In Western Australia, March is the best time to plant seed garlic. There are hundreds of cultivars of garlic and therefore choosing the best cultivar or variety to plant is one of the most important steps when deciding to grow your own garlic. Here at The Culinary Farm, we are trialling a selection of cultivars including garlics from the Creole, Artichoke and Turban groups, to determine which ones best suit our climate and growing conditions.

Each year at the farm we set aside our biggest and most healthy garlic cloves for planting the following year. We have been growing the Tasmanian Purple cultivar and the Spanish Roja cultivar
for four years, which makes these cultivars very well suited to our local climate here in Chittering.

To have good success with growing your own garlic it’s important to source local seed garlic that is well suited to our Western Australian growing conditions. Many garlic bulbs sold at the greengrocers/ supermarkets are kept in cold storage and treated with sprout inhibitors to stop them from sprouting. Getting some local, spray-free garlic directly from The Culinary Farm will ensure you have the best chance of success with growing your own this season.

Our ready-to-plant cloves will be available at the Kalamunda Garden Festival in Autumn.

Follow our tips to successfully grow your own garlic.

Select a sunny spot

Select a sunny, well drained position to plant seed garlic. Garlic grows best in raised beds or in soil that is mounded up to allow for good drainage.

Prepare the soil

Select a new spot to plant your garlic each year to prevent build-up of fungal spores in the soil. Garlic grows best in soils that have been enriched with organic matter and have a pH of between 6 and 7. At The Culinary Farm we use organic pelletised chicken manure to enrich our soil. Before planting your seed garlic, be sure to dig over the soil to loosen it so the garlic can grow freely and without constriction.

Plant seed garlic

At The Culinary Farm we start planting our seed garlic in early March so that the cloves can sprout and get some growth before the Winter weather sets in. We crack our biggest premium garlic bulbs in late February and select out the best single cloves from each bulb for planting. When planting a single garlic clove, leave the papery covering on and plant it 2 – 5cm deep and 10 – 15cm apart, with the pointy end up.

Water and keep weed-free

Regular watering is essential for good garlic growth. A deep water two to three times per week is optimal. It’s also important to keep the weeds from growing in and around your garlic. Weeds compete with the garlic for nutrition and light and therefore inhibit garlic growth. At The Culinary Farm we grow chemical free garlic, which means we hand-weed our garlic and we don’t use chemical sprays to control weeds.

The only time you should stop watering your garlic is when the first leaves start dying back and begin to turn brown, which will be about two weeks before its time to harvest your garlic.

Download and share our grow your own garlic infographic: